Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Podcast

Talking Headways Podcast: The Most Exhilarating Transit Ride in America

podcast icon logo

This week's guest is Matt Johnson, a bike planner for Montgomery County, Maryland, and a writer at Greater Greater Washington. Instead of visiting every baseball park or trying out each city’s regional cuisine, Matt rides their rail systems. In fact, he’s ridden every American urban rail system open today (101 total), as shown in this handy spreadsheet.

Matt tells us about his favorite systems and what got him started on his journey to ride them all. We also get into the allure of long-distance Amtrak travel and how the annual #NerdTrain -- a gathering of GGW contributors and friends aboard Amtrak -- got started. And we of course get Matt's take on several DC transit topics including the streetcar, the walkability problem with Tyson’s Corner, and how transit planners choose alignments for new routes.

So tune in and find out which city is home to "The Most Exhilarating Transit Ride in America."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

OPINION: Where Cities are Investing, Vision Zero is Working 

As the Vision Zero Network turns 10, it's time to look at what works and what is achievable (a lot!).

November 28, 2025

Friday’s Post-Turkey Headlines Are on Autopilot

While we remain skeptical of driverless vehicles, they do sound nice while in a tryptophan stupor.

November 28, 2025

Book Excerpt Special: Jonathan Lethem’s ‘Program’s Progress’

Class struggle. Infirm secondary superheroes. Suicidal sheep. It’s all in Jonathan Lethem's new collection of short stories, "A Different Kind of Tension." Here's an excerpt — featuring class struggle with cars!

November 26, 2025

Welcome to the Jungle, Wednesday’s Headlines

The COP30 climate summit in the Amazon rain forest exposed world leaders to the effects of climate change, but they still failed to take action.

November 26, 2025

Safety’s Last for Tuesday’s Headlines

A ProPublica investigation found 30 instances where DOT actions under President Trump endanger lives.

November 25, 2025
See all posts